I remember, back in the mid-1990s, when chicken chili arrived on the food scene. We were in the thick of trying to revamp our old favorites (mostly with beef, veal, even lamb) into more healthy versions featuring chicken (ground or cubes) or turkey. The first time I made turkey meatloaf let’s just say that I was under-whelmed. But many creative cooks have figured out ways to give ground chicken and ground turkey a lot more flavor, yet look like those old beef favorites. For awhile I tried mixing half chicken/turkey and half beef in things like meatloaf. Then I got fed up with the lack of texture and flavor and went back to all beef versions. We just didn’t eat them very often.
But chicken chili is an altogether different animal, so to speak. It’s really not exactly chili. At least this one is almost more like a thick soup or stew, but with all the trappings of chili. This has all the stuff we like – beans, meat protein (chicken instead of beef), chiles, chili powder, cumin, then you serve it with all the usual garnishes (in this case: sour cream, grated cheese, cilantro and salsa). I even added a bowl of crumbled-up Fritos to the chili garnishes to add some crunch. There is more than an average amount of butter in this dish. I used what was called for, but wonder if it would taste just as good with less. As our friend Bud says, fat is the sled on which flavor rides. Maybe because there are so many sort-of bland things in this, the butter becomes a necessity. Next time I will try it with less. I also think this will serve more people than the recipe indicated. Although, the crew eating this were all very hungry from a hard day’s work (see below).
The recipe was in the February, 1996 issue of Gourmet magazine. It’s from “The Kitchen for Exploring Foods,” (a catering company) in Pasadena, right in our neck of the woods. You can find the recipe on epicurious.com easily enough, and read the 186 reviews (the 10-12 I read all raved about it). If you have made any of my recipes, just trust me on this. The chili is gosh-darned good. I made a double batch (I was feeding a crowd) so purchased 3 very large, whole chicken breasts, bone and skin attached, roasted them in the oven (400 for 35 minutes), then cut off the meat and into small chunks. The chicken does NOT get simmered in the chili for any length of time – you don’t want the chicken to give up its flavor and moisture to the soup, so add at the last minute and just heat through.
Our son and his wife were moving back into their house a few days ago (it’s been about 13 months for the major remodel to be completed). My DH was there to check off the boxes and furniture as the movers brought them in the door. I offered to bring a meal for the family helping – Karen chose dinner. But, the caveat was they have no cooktop or oven yet (the wrong one was delivered, and now they must wait another week or two for the right one to arrive) so I had to bring dinner in a crock pot or something else that could be plugged in. Chili seemed like the easy choice. Basically a one dish meal with a salad and dessert. See cook’s notes at the bottom of the recipe for more details. My changes are marked in RED.
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White Chicken Chili
Recipe By: Adapted from one in Gourmet Magazine, Feb, 1996
Serving Size: 6 -8
1/2 pound dried navy beans — picked over
1 large onion — chopped
1 cup celery — chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 cups fat free half-and-half
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce — or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt — or to taste
1/2 teaspoon white pepper — or to taste
8 ounces canned whole mild green chilies — drained and chopped
2 pounds chicken breast, no skin, no bone, R-T-C — cooked and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese — grated, about 1 1/2 cups
1/2 cup sour cream
8 ounces corn kernels — canned or frozen [optional]
1 1/2 teaspoons ancho chile powder [optional]
1 1/2 teaspoons New Mexico chile powder [optional]
Garnish: fresh cilantro, more grated cheese and sour cream
Accompaniment: tomato salsa, Fritos
1. In a large kettle soak beans overnight in cold water to cover by 2 inches. Drain beans in a colander and return to kettle with cold water to cover by 2 inches. Cook beans at a bare simmer until tender, about 1 hour, and drain in colander.
2. In a 6-8 quart heavy pan cook onion and celery in 2 tablespoons butter over moderate heat until softened. Remove mixture and set aside.
3. In same pan melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter over moderately low heat and whisk in flour. Cook roux, whisking constantly, 3 minutes. Have broth and half-and-half ready beside the stove before beginning next part (otherwise lumps will form in mixture). Stir in onion mixture and gradually add broth and half-and-half, whisking constantly. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in Tabasco, chili powders, cumin, salt, corn and white pepper. Add beans, chilies, chicken, and Monterey Jack and cook mixture over moderately low heat, stirring, 20 minutes. Stir sour cream into chili. If chili is too thick, just add chicken broth to thin it down a little bit.
4. Garnish chili with cilantro and serve with salsa, cheese and more sour cream.
Cook’s Notes: I made a few changes to the original: (1) I used fat-free half and half instead of the real stuff. In this kind of preparation, nobody would possibly know the difference; (2) I added corn, just because; and (3) I like using a mixture of chile powders (ancho for flavor but no heat and New Mexico specifically) so I changed the amounts there and I added one more teaspoon of cumin just because I like the stuff.
Per Serving: 707 Calories; 33g Fat (43.1% calories from fat); 52g Protein; 46g Carbohydrate; 11g Dietary Fiber; 167mg Cholesterol; 616mg Sodium.
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